Citizenship-Law Germany

Citizenship Law Germany 2023

In contrast to many other countries (e.g. USA), German citizenship is not acquired by birth on German territory under German naturalization law (no place of birth principle, Latin "ius soli"). Additional requirements for acquiring German citizenship must be met at birth in Germany, which are comparatively difficult to fulfill in Germany if one parent is not a German citizen. According to the current naturalization law, marrying a German no longer leads to the acquisition of German citizenship (but makes the naturalization process much easier). The same applies (except in special cases) to a line of descent (e.g. grandparents) that has been "interrupted" (e.g. if the foreigner's parents have lost their German citizenship). In the vast majority of cases, naturalization is therefore based on an application to the competent authority.

The German Naturalization Act enables the acquisition of German citizenship by means of the following possibilities: 

• birth

• marriage

• adoption

• declaration and legitimation

• application for naturalization

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German citizenship by birth
Naturalization law only grants German citizenship by birth if one of the parents has German citizenship. The family must also live in Germany. If the mother is a German citizen, the child automatically acquires German citizenship. If only the father has German citizenship, paternity must usually be recognized. This procedure must be completed before the child reaches the age of 23. 

If neither parent has German citizenship, the child can only acquire German nationality under the German Naturalization Act in exceptional cases. In this respect, one parent must have been habitually resident in Germany for eight years and have an unlimited right of residence (usually a settlement permit). If this is the case, the child's acquisition of German citizenship is entered in the birth register.

German citizenship through marriage

According to the German Naturalization Act, a foreigner does not automatically acquire German citizenship through marriage. Even after marriage, both spouses retain their respective citizenship. If the marriage has taken place with a German citizen, the German Naturalization Act provides considerable relief for naturalization. In particular, the required period of residence is reduced to just three years if the marriage or registered civil partnership has existed for at least two years and both spouses have their habitual residence (i.e. place of residence) in Germany. According to the Naturalization Act, the required period of residence can be reduced even further if the marriage or registered civil partnership has existed for at least three years. 

Obtaining German citizenship through an application

From the perspective of German naturalization law, there are many different ways to become naturalized in Germany. Theoretically, naturalization law even makes it possible to obtain naturalization without having to complete the residence period, take the naturalization test and possess the language skills (B1) (so-called entitlement naturalization). However, as the foreigners authority has discretionary powers in this variant in accordance with naturalization law (so-called optional provision), such naturalization does not occur in practice. In this respect, the authorities generally only naturalize if the foreigner has a legal entitlement to naturalization (so-called entitlement naturalization).

Further options under the German Naturalization Act

Apart from submitting an application for naturalization and the options mentioned above, German nationality can also be acquired through the following options under the German Naturalization Act:

• adoption,

• acquisition by legitimation,

• children can declare that they wish to acquire German nationality if one of their parents is German but the child has not acquired German nationality.

However, as these options relate to very specific case constellations, they will not be discussed further here.